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As a self-funded entrepreneur, you start off as little more than
a freelancer but, eventually, you are unable to do everything.
You can’t design and manufacture a product from beginning to end
while building a media company to promote yourself and a stylish,
intuitive ecommerce platform.

A self-funded entrepreneur almost always must come up with
the product idea and its unique selling proposition, then
define your unique position in media space. Beyond that, it
all depends on what your particular skills are. You should
outsource some of the following:

Web design. You can afford $30 a month it for a
hosting account, set up an aesthetic blog, store, shopping cart
and so on.

Content. If hustling content is
your primary skill, focus on that and pay somebody else
to produce the content. Even if you can’t afford a couple
thousand dollars a month for a content marketing agency, you can
probably afford a few hundred, as
needed, on influential bloggers or content producers.
It’s not about how much content you can produce but how high if
the quality.

All things product. Most successful
businesses aren’t built around a revolutionary product, they are
built around a boring product with an innovative twist. It’s your
job to come up with the twist. That doesn’t mean you need to
become expert on product design, prototyping,
manufacturing and distribution.

Justin Winters had three months of experience with
candles when he launched Diamond Candle and built a $12M business in 18 months. His
innovative idea was putting jewelry in candles. He didn't know
everything about designing and manufacturing candles.

Obviously, the vast majority of self-funded entrepreneurs can't
afford to outsource everything. Consider these points to decide
where to spend your money:

Skills. What are you really good at? This can be
a painful question because you’ll also have to admit what you’re
mediocre at. Focus on the part of your business where you can
contribute the most. Outsource everything else that you can
afford to.

Selling proposition. Which investments will
contribute the most to your unique selling proposition? You
almost certainly can’t afford to go premium on everything. It’s
better to do one thing really well, and if possible, to be the
first to do it. Drop all unnecessary features, and skimp on any
necessary features that don’t contribute to your unique selling
proposition, either by doing it yourself or outsourcing at
bargain-barrel prices.

Many questions are judgment calls only you can make. Do you spend
on marketing or product? Which investments will have
the strongest impact on profit margins, as opposed to sheer
numbers? Do you know your audience well enough to spend
money on design, prototyping or manufacturing, or do you
need to interact with more customers first? Only after
answering these questions should you start spending your money.

Pay for things in small doses. Don’t hire a full time writer or
designer when you can pay a freelancer for a single piece of
content. You don’t need to buy massive production runs of
products. You can purchase small batches or prototypes at
relatively small costs. Tim Ferris has some quick and dirty
advice on prototyping and manufacturing.

I strongly recommend small experiments over big investments,
especially at first. Don’t obsess over per-unit costs. It’s more
important to find a market, sell to it and get feedback with
as small an upfront investment as possible.

The possibilities are better than ever for self-funded
entrepreneurs to dive into ecommerce and start successful
businesses. Strategic thinkers who understand how to
differentiate themselves with product and positioning can run
low-cost experiments, discovering business opportunities while
taking relatively small risks. The financial barriers to breach
have all but disappeared, and modern entrepreneurs have the
ability to become their own micro-media companies, avoiding the
costs of traditional advertising.